Australia approves first war crime extradition

Konrad Kalejs became the first suspected Nazi war criminal to be found eligible for extradition from Australia, when a magistrate approved yesterday a request from Latvia that he be returned to face trial for crimes against humanity.

Defence lawyers said they would appeal, raising fears that 87-year-old Kalejs, a former millionaire property developer, will prolong his appeal to ensure that he dies in his Melbourne retirement home.

Mr Kalejs dozed in a wheelchair while magistrate Lisa Hannan ruled that he qualified for extradition on one count of war crimes and one count of genocide, saying that documents linked him to the death of 290 Jews from the Salaspils labour camp in Latvia.

Mr Kalejs, an Australian citizen since 1957, will appeal against extradition to the federal court on the grounds that he is too ill and too old. His case could go to the high court, after which he could make a plea to the justice minister.

Mr Kalejs lived in Leicestershire until he was deported in January last year. He was deported from Canada in 1997 and from the US in 1994.

Mr Kalejs has admitted being a member of the Arajs Kommando, a Latvian unit that killed thousands of Jews during the Nazi occupation.

The case has prompted calls for reforms of Australian laws to allow citizenship to be revoked retrospectively for those guilty of war crimes. A law allowing individuals suspected of recent war crimes to face trial is also being sought.